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Young Boyz face huge task against HaitiPaul Peid
Saturday, October 13, 2007
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti - Jamaica will make three changes to their starting 11 going into today's crucial Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Zone H Olympic qualifying second round game against hosts Haiti at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port Au Prince, starting at 4:00 pm.
Jamaica, who lost 0-1 to the Bahamas in Thursday's match, must beat the host and group leaders by four clear goals to get the lone qualifying spot to advance to the final round stage along with Cuba, who won Group G being played simultaneously in Trinidad, as well as three Central American teams, Canada, Mexico and the USA at a venue to be named. Two teams will advance to Beijing for the Olympics football tournament.
Haiti lead the group on goal difference over the Bahamas on three points, while Jamaica are yet to open their account.
Jamaica's Keammar Daley (left) braces for a challenge from his Bahamas opponent during Thursday's game. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Haiti have a goal differential of six after beating Bahamas by that margin on Tuesday; the Bahamians have a minus-five goal difference, and have no hopes of advancing.
In an effort to improve the offensive thrust of the team, coach Wendell Downswell will bring in Meadhaven's Norman Bailey to replace his club teammate Keammar Daley, while Belgian-based Rafe Wolfe will make way for August Town's central defender Ajuran Brown, who will partner Keneil Moodie in front of Dwayne Miller, who replaces Duwayne Kerr in goal.
Bailey will go to central midfield where he will rotate duties with Ricardo Cousins.
Downswell has also shifted around several players with Obrian Woodbine, who started at right back on Thursday, moving to right midfield, while team captain Rudolph Austin will shift to right back.
Eric Vernon, who played on the right side of the midfield on Thursday, will be pushed forward to partner Luton Shelton in the two-man strike force and Downswell is hoping the speedy pair will create problems for the Haitian defence.
The other starters will be left back Troy Smith and Nicholy Finlayson.
Jamaica's coach Wendell Downswell (left) listens as Haitian football official Sainmil Lestin translates during the post-match press conference following Jamaica's 0-1 loss to the Bahamas in their CFU Group H second round game played in Port-Au-Prince on Thursday. Lestin, nicknamed 'Tap Tap' by the Jamaican players, also serves as the Jamaican Liaison officer. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Wolfe's benching, he explained, was not a demotion, but really to give the team "more options off the bench" as the former Portmore player can play several positions on the field.
Downswell explained his decisions by saying, "we want to make the formation a little more attacking while playing very tight at the back, 'cause we really have no choice than to go out and to get an early goal as we need to get four goals in 90 minutes".
The coach was under no illusions what kind of welcome will be awaiting the Jamaican team when they walk out on the pitch at the 54-year-old facility later today. He expects the atmosphere will be "extremely hostile, but this will be really a test of character for the team".
He said the team was "extremely disappointed at (Thursday's) loss, we did not score a goal (but the) stats showed we created 22 chances, 12 one-on-ones with the goalkeeper", but added they can't come down too much on the players "as on any given day we are absolutely certain that with the strike force we have, we should have scored two or three goals, just chose to have bad day".
Today, Downswell is expecting "a good, controlled performance where time management will be a key factor for us as to when we get the all-important first goal and try to consolidate from there".
The Jamaicans went through an hour-long session at the game venue yesterday and it was obvious what was at stake as the players showed a lot more intensity than the previous session.
National technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic, who arrived in Haiti yesterday, was at the session, but after helping the goalkeepers warmup, watched from the sidelines.
The 18,000-capacity venue is expected to be rocking from well before the start as the home fans will be expecting to cruise through and advance to the next round.
The Jamaicans are not giving up, however, and as the coaching staff and management have been trying to get the team to understand since the end of the Bahamas game, they were not out of contention.
While a four-goal margin, though seemingly improbable against a big, strong, hard-running Haitian team, the Jamaicans are not giving up and a lot will be expected of Shelton and company.
If the Jamaicans can create and convert even a third of their chances from Thursday, it will be a walk in the park. However, a repeat from Thursday could see them crash out of contention after going undefeated in the first round of qualifying in Aruba.
The mood in the camp - sombre and quiet on Thursday night - picked up somewhat yesterday, especially after a quick pep talk from head of delegation, Carlton 'Spanner' Dennis and coach Downswell after breakfast.
The coach also had one-on-one meetings with players prior to going out to training in the afternoon.
The Haitian offence is expected to be led by Leonel Saint Preux and Alain Vubert, who scored two goals each in Tuesday's rout, which was played under soggy conditions. The weather here has been unpredictable as after it rained all day Tuesday and Wednesday, cleared up for Thursday and all of yesterday, but the rains came back last night just after the training session ended.
Young Boyz face huge task against HaitiPaul Peid
Saturday, October 13, 2007
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti - Jamaica will make three changes to their starting 11 going into today's crucial Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Zone H Olympic qualifying second round game against hosts Haiti at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port Au Prince, starting at 4:00 pm.
Jamaica, who lost 0-1 to the Bahamas in Thursday's match, must beat the host and group leaders by four clear goals to get the lone qualifying spot to advance to the final round stage along with Cuba, who won Group G being played simultaneously in Trinidad, as well as three Central American teams, Canada, Mexico and the USA at a venue to be named. Two teams will advance to Beijing for the Olympics football tournament.
Haiti lead the group on goal difference over the Bahamas on three points, while Jamaica are yet to open their account.
Jamaica's Keammar Daley (left) braces for a challenge from his Bahamas opponent during Thursday's game. (Photo: Paul Reid)Haiti have a goal differential of six after beating Bahamas by that margin on Tuesday; the Bahamians have a minus-five goal difference, and have no hopes of advancing.
In an effort to improve the offensive thrust of the team, coach Wendell Downswell will bring in Meadhaven's Norman Bailey to replace his club teammate Keammar Daley, while Belgian-based Rafe Wolfe will make way for August Town's central defender Ajuran Brown, who will partner Keneil Moodie in front of Dwayne Miller, who replaces Duwayne Kerr in goal.
Bailey will go to central midfield where he will rotate duties with Ricardo Cousins.
Downswell has also shifted around several players with Obrian Woodbine, who started at right back on Thursday, moving to right midfield, while team captain Rudolph Austin will shift to right back.
Eric Vernon, who played on the right side of the midfield on Thursday, will be pushed forward to partner Luton Shelton in the two-man strike force and Downswell is hoping the speedy pair will create problems for the Haitian defence.
The other starters will be left back Troy Smith and Nicholy Finlayson.
Jamaica's coach Wendell Downswell (left) listens as Haitian football official Sainmil Lestin translates during the post-match press conference following Jamaica's 0-1 loss to the Bahamas in their CFU Group H second round game played in Port-Au-Prince on Thursday. Lestin, nicknamed 'Tap Tap' by the Jamaican players, also serves as the Jamaican Liaison officer. (Photo: Paul Reid) Wolfe's benching, he explained, was not a demotion, but really to give the team "more options off the bench" as the former Portmore player can play several positions on the field.
Downswell explained his decisions by saying, "we want to make the formation a little more attacking while playing very tight at the back, 'cause we really have no choice than to go out and to get an early goal as we need to get four goals in 90 minutes".
The coach was under no illusions what kind of welcome will be awaiting the Jamaican team when they walk out on the pitch at the 54-year-old facility later today. He expects the atmosphere will be "extremely hostile, but this will be really a test of character for the team".
He said the team was "extremely disappointed at (Thursday's) loss, we did not score a goal (but the) stats showed we created 22 chances, 12 one-on-ones with the goalkeeper", but added they can't come down too much on the players "as on any given day we are absolutely certain that with the strike force we have, we should have scored two or three goals, just chose to have bad day".
Today, Downswell is expecting "a good, controlled performance where time management will be a key factor for us as to when we get the all-important first goal and try to consolidate from there".
The Jamaicans went through an hour-long session at the game venue yesterday and it was obvious what was at stake as the players showed a lot more intensity than the previous session.
National technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic, who arrived in Haiti yesterday, was at the session, but after helping the goalkeepers warmup, watched from the sidelines.
The 18,000-capacity venue is expected to be rocking from well before the start as the home fans will be expecting to cruise through and advance to the next round.
The Jamaicans are not giving up, however, and as the coaching staff and management have been trying to get the team to understand since the end of the Bahamas game, they were not out of contention.
While a four-goal margin, though seemingly improbable against a big, strong, hard-running Haitian team, the Jamaicans are not giving up and a lot will be expected of Shelton and company.
If the Jamaicans can create and convert even a third of their chances from Thursday, it will be a walk in the park. However, a repeat from Thursday could see them crash out of contention after going undefeated in the first round of qualifying in Aruba.
The mood in the camp - sombre and quiet on Thursday night - picked up somewhat yesterday, especially after a quick pep talk from head of delegation, Carlton 'Spanner' Dennis and coach Downswell after breakfast.
The coach also had one-on-one meetings with players prior to going out to training in the afternoon.
The Haitian offence is expected to be led by Leonel Saint Preux and Alain Vubert, who scored two goals each in Tuesday's rout, which was played under soggy conditions. The weather here has been unpredictable as after it rained all day Tuesday and Wednesday, cleared up for Thursday and all of yesterday, but the rains came back last night just after the training session ended.